A one-night stand with a stranger was the perfect escape—until LB finds out he works for her estranged father. Now, with tension crackling between them and old wounds reopened, she's forced to choose between the walls she’s built and the truth she never wanted to face. But when Matteo Bellerose calls, he doesn’t just send a message—he sends a man like Orion.
“You’re Lydia Bellerose?”
Orion stared at her in disbelief. He couldn’t believe the woman he had introduced to his bed the night before was the same woman he was sent to Chicago to find. And out of all the years he’d worked for Matteo, never once did he mention having a daughter.
“You work for my father?”
“I didn’t know he was your father,” Orion cut in. “If I had known...”
“Stop!”
LB shut him up when she remembered where they were. The last thing she needed was an article in the blogs about a wild one-night stand with her father’s employee. Janice sure didn’t seem to mind the suspense that lingered in the air between them. She was always ready for a juicy gossip spill.
“What are you doing here?”
Orion shifted his focus from Janice, whose hand was squeezing his bicep with deep admiration, back to LB, who stood before him with a confused expression and an ugly outfit.
“Your father sent me here to deliver a message to you. I didn’t think I would find you so quickly.”
LB couldn’t ignore the way Orion looked at her.
She could tell that he was mostly concerned with her outfit, but still thought she was beautiful enough to take seriously. It wasn’t a look she was overly familiar with or one she saw often. The truth just trailed in his energy.
For a moment, she glared at him, wondering how a man so good looking ended up working for a man like her father.
She wondered what skeletons he had in his closet and if they were anything like Matteo’s.
She wondered why she was so attracted to him and couldn’t seem to shoo him from the building after she found out who he was.
The anger she swore she had for Matteo and everyone who worked for Bellerose Sec didn’t want to settle on Orion. Not too soon, anyway.
“What does he want?”
LB folded her arms across her chest while she waited for an answer.
“Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
Both of their eyes darted to Janice when they noticed how intrigued she was with their conversation. LB didn’t want to take Orion to her office in fear of falling for his charm again, but with no other option than to allow him into her personal space for privacy, she led the way.
“This is your office?” he asked, compelled by the decor.
“It said it on the door. Lydia Bellerose,” she replied sarcastically.
Orion ignored her and gave himself a tour of her corner office with a perfect view of the city. LB thought it was mighty arrogant of him to walk around looking at her work without being invited to do so, but when thoughts of the way his hands had caressed her body the night before came to mind, she was left speechless.
“No pictures of you and your father?” Orion made his way to her desk and took a seat.
“Did you see any?”
He winced at her sarcasm. It was obvious he didn’t know Matteo as well as he thought he did and he had a lot of catching up to do, but LB’s attitude made him feel like it was impossible.
“Did I miss something here?” he asked. “Why do you seem so angry at me? I’m just the messenger.”
“Why did he send you instead of coming himself?”
She gave him a daring look full of mixed signals, lust and temptation, and as badly as Orion wanted to place LB on her desk and relive the night before, he forced himself to remember that she was his assignment.
“I’d like to know the same thing,” he replied. “I’ve been working for him for nearly ten years and have never seen him keep a secret so well.”
They sat across from each other, fighting the urge to act on their desires.
But LB was moist and Orion had to hold his breath to keep his manhood from rising. It was a fight they both knew they were fighting. Despite that, the challenge continued.
“Matteo never mentioned having a daughter up until now,” Orion said. “He’s sick and has been for a while. I guess he’s going through some kind of epiphany and wants to make amends with everyone he doesn’t talk to.”
Concern filled LB’s heart. She was angry for caring that her father was sick. Especially when he didn’t care about her mother being on her deathbed.
It was funny—all those years of not speaking to him and that parental love didn’t fade the way she thought it would. She was honestly afraid to be left in the world with no parents. Though she had Janice, deep down inside, it wasn’t the same.
“Make amends, huh?” LB sat back in her chair. “It’s been, what, seven years since we’ve spoken? He’s held onto his ego for seven years, missed my mom’s funeral, didn’t help with her medical bills, and all of a sudden he wants to make amends? Typical Matteo—never caring about anyone other than himself.”
Orion sat quietly, not knowing what to say. It was clear that he was in over his head in family drama and probably should have reached out to LB beforehand, but he wasn’t used to communicating with family.
He had no family. Other than Matteo.
“I don’t know what happened between you and your father, and I’m sorry to just barge in and start ordering you around. But Matteo requested you be brought to London for a sit down. Now, I’d like to get back home as soon as possible, but I can spare a few days for you to get your things together.”
He spoke so matter-of-factly that LB couldn’t fix her lips to form a smart reply. She couldn’t reply at all for a moment.
It was as if Orion’s eyes had captured her and spun her into a world of the unknown, and his voice possessed her spirit and erased all the negative thoughts she had about going to London at her father’s request.
She wanted to contest with outrage and conviction. But all she could do was stare.
“What happened to your mum?”
His question sent a jolt of electricity to LB’s heart. The story of her mom was one she never wanted to tell again, for fear of reopening the wound that took years to scab over. And even though the scab had grown tough and rugged on the outside, it still wasn’t completely healed.
“Tell Matteo I’m not interested in a chat,” LB said sharply. “And I’m certainly not going all the way to London to have one. Now, if you don’t mind. I have work to do.”
Orion understood her hint very well. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a man who took no for an answer. Not in regards to Matteo.
Ever since he lost his family, he cringed when he saw families that didn’t get along. It pained him to watch Matteo grow old by himself.
No wife. No children. No good friends. Just him. And the many gold digging women who entered his life for riches and fame.
“Are you really so against talking with your father?” Orion crossed one leg over the other to show LB that he was comfortable. “I mean, how much could it hurt to just sit down with the man? If it’s really been seven years since you two have spoken, wouldn’t you like some answers of your own?”
LB couldn’t believe her ears. The last time she remembered feeling so disrespected by a stranger was during a photoshoot from hell.
She wanted to scream at Orion for being so brave to insert his opinion. Then she quickly remembered that wasn’t the only thing he’d inserted into her life and her scream turned into a stern whisper.
“You have no idea what my father has put me through!” she hissed. “He may have you fooled, but I stopped being his fool a long time ago. Now, please! If you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.”
Her anger was fueled by pain, which was something Orion knew very well.
He wanted to comfort her and apologize for being too straightforward after a night of passion, but he respected her wishes and decided to leave.
“Alright then.” He stood up and fixed his suit. “I’ll leave you with my card so you can reach out at your earliest convenience. But make no mistake, Madam, I won’t leave Chicago without you on that plane.”
LB was both frightened and intrigued.
Something about his tone made her feel like she was in danger but that he would take care of her every step of the way.
“Well, should I call the police now and save us both the trouble?” she sassed.
Orion smiled. Then he chuckled as he scanned her office for the invisible threat. He had no intentions of hurting her or becoming a stalker. But he did have other things in mind.
“If that’s what you must do to feel safe,” he replied. “But I assure you, I’m not here to cause you any harm.”
He gave her one last stare from across the room, reminded her to use his card, and just as swiftly as he had come, he was out the door again.
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